I had been quite happy working from my small office/desk space.
It was a small area admittedly, but it served my purposes. I had enough space for my binders on a simple shelf system and a letter tray to deal with work priorities; with everything else held electronically and in the cloud, it was just right – for the time being.
Roll forward 6 months and three more clients and I was quickly needing more desk and storage space.
In order to keep up with data entry I had begun to use a web-based service to scan invoices which then upload them directly into Sage or Xero accounting systems for my clients and as such, I needed an area for a dedicated scanner.
I had also needed to purchase a dedicated cupboard to house my clients ever growing lever arch binders.
My husband agreed that I needed to have a better working area. But unfortunately we do not have the room in our home to accommodate a dedicated office for me, so I have to remain working at the far end of the kitchen, for the time being.
We installed some open shelving cupboards to house the letter tray and clients folders, and by lifting everything up off the desk space, it created an open area for the scanner. I also decided to purchase a comfy chair which has made a whole world of difference, especially to my back and shoulders.
With this simple change it has created a more spacious work area so I now don’t feel as hemmed in as I once did, and the cupboard for the lever arch binders has made things much easier to access and file.
It took just two hours to complete the work and looking at it now, I wish that I had done this much sooner. 
Working in this space makes me feel more organised and more productive when I sit down to work now. It’s surprising how such a simple change can have an energising effect on workflow.
I have also created a system to help eliminate or least reduce the chance of mislaying paperwork, by colour coding each client. I have just the current work folders on hand on the shelf to my right and store the other folders in the cabinet. I personally try not to work on more than 3 clients work on any given day, otherwise, it can seem very overwhelming.
I will put up another post about systems and methods that I use to help manage my work, next week. Till then
“Work hard, stay humble”